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The Top 30 Jewish Musicians

Christmas classics may vastly out-number Hanukkah hits, but there's been no shortage of Jewish artists that have topped the Billboard charts over the years. With Hanukkah, the Jewish festival of lights, beginning on the evening of Wednesday, November 27, now is the perfect time to celebrate the Jewish musicians who have made the biggest impact on the Hot 100 over the decades. We've gathered the Tribe's biggest Billboard stars on our top 30 countdown.

The ranking is based on actual performance on the weekly Billboard Hot 100 since the chart launched in August 1958. Songs are ranked based on an inverse point system, with weeks at No. 1 earning the greatest value and weeks at No. 100 earning the least. Prior to the Hot 100's implementation in 1991 of enhanced radio and sales information from Nielsen BDS and Nielsen SoundScan, songs had shorter reigns at No. 1 and shorter chart lives. To ensure equitable representation of the biggest hits from the past 55 years, earlier time frames were each weighted to account for the difference between turnover rates from those decades and the turnover rates that have occurred since the advent of Nielsen Music data.

28. KISSBoth Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley of the larger-than-life hard-rock act are Jewish. The group exploded after 1975 live set "Alive!," bringing songs such as "Rock and Roll All Nite" -- and the band's ever-present glam-rock makeup -- to an audience of millions. "Beth" brought Kiss to the top 10 of the Hot 100 in 1976; "Forever," which peaked at No. 8, returned them to the top 10 club in 1990.Highest Charting Hot 100 Hit: "Beth" (No. 7, peak date: Dec. 4, 1976)

26. Mark Knopfler (Dire Straits)Knopfler and Dire Straits hit the top 10 of the Hot 100 with 1979's "Sultans of Swing" but the MTV-era brought the rockers their biggest hit, "Money For Nothing," which name-checks the music channel and features backing vocals by Sting.Highest Charting Hot 100 Hit: "Money For Nothing" (No. 1 for 3 weeks, peak date: Sept. 21, 1985)

25. Bob DylanFew artists have carried more influence or been more provocative in the rock era than Dylan, born Robert Zimmerman, whose '60s protest songs gave way to an electric epiphany and later, a gospel period as 1979's "Slow Train Coming" marked his conversion to Christianity.Highest Charting Hot 100 Hits: "Like A Rolling Stone" (No. 2, peak date: Sept. 4, 1965); "Rainy Day Women #12 & #35" (No. 2, peak date: May 21, 1966)

24. The J. Geils BandA live juggernaut, the hard-touring group (of which four members are Jewish) drew upon soul, blues and rock throughout the '70s. The band's 1981 album "Freeze-Frame," spawned two singles that reached the top five of the Hot 100: the title song and "Centerfold."Highest Charting Hot 100 Hit: "Centerfold" (No. 1 for 6 weeks, peak date: Feb. 6, 1982)

23. Eric Carmen After '70s power-pop beginnings with the Raspberries (and a Hot 100 No. 2 solo hit with "All By Myself), the rocker wrote hits for the "Footloose" and "Dirty Dancing" soundtracks, hitting the top five with his own "Hungry Eyes" in 1988.Highest Charting Hot 100 Hit: "All By Myself" (No. 2, peak date: March 6, 1976)